Team India bowlers might get a break for the ODI series against England

There used to be a time when fast bowlers were made to play in every and every matches irrespective of format until they fell prey to a career threatening injury but the trend though is all set to change. As per reports by Times of India the Indian team management might rest almost all the bowlers from the Test squad for the upcoming ODIs against England who has been an integral part of the team helping them to an unassailable 2-0 lead in the 5 match series.

The limited overs series will comprise of 3 ODIs and as many T20s. The first ODI is scheduled to be played at Pune on 15th January.

Apart from Umesh Yadav, all the three premier bowlers in the team including Ravichandran Ashwin, Ravindra Jadeja, and Mohammed Shami was rested for the ODI series against New Zealand which India narrowly won by a 3-2 margin.

So as it stands the English team might be overjoyed with the prospect that they might not face any of the bowlers who had troubled them so far in the ongoing Test series.

Following the ODI and T20I series against England, India will play a one-off Test match against Bangladesh followed by a 4 match Test series against Australia. So it is apparent that the Indian team management wants their best bowling options to be fit and fresh for the long summer.

The policy of rotating bowlers was first adopted by Australia and now it has been employed by India too. The man behind this change is none other than Team India head coach Anil Kumble who along with seamer Javagal Srinath played almost all matches for India in both Tests and ODI.

Former Indian batsman and a prominent face in the commentary panel Sanjay Manjrekar backed this strategy completely.

“During our last tour to England in 2014, Ed Smith remarked that one of the English pacers should’ve been rested for the third Test. When Atherton asked him ‘who’, he said that it doesn’t matter. It’s about resting one of these guys, because a fresher pacer would’ve added more value to the team. It was an interesting point, and it’s started to happen now. In that series, Varun Aaron was impressive in the last two Tests, because he was the freshest amongst all the Indian pacers. So, this has become reality of our times,” Manjrekar told TOI on Friday.

“See, sometimes, we play people because of their performance and experience, but there have been numerous experiences in the past, like in that particular series, James Anderson seemed tired towards the end of the series and wasn’t as his best. He wasn’t as potent as he can be. So, we see a Stuart Broad and a Chris Woakes missing the odd Test. It’s become a new thing, and there’s some sense to it,” he felt.

Manjrekar also believed India could even rest Shami and Yadav during the end of the series if they appear jaded.

“They’re both bowling at 140kph. They’ve outbowled England and New Zealand on pace. In fact, if they see that Umesh is looking tired before the fifth Test, who knows that they may go for a fresher bowler. That’s wherein the culture has changed a bit,” he signed off.